How Office Managers Can Cater To The Diverse Dietary Needs Of Todays Modern Workplace

Your office is probably very diverse with people from all areas of the country or world. Everyone is truly an individual. There are different personalities, motivators, and preferences for each employee. Just as each employee is unique in what they do and how they do it, many have unique dietary needs, too. And, these different needs often make workplace eating challenging. You want to be as inclusive as necessary, but how you can possibly know about every employee’s dietary needs?

Some employees have dietary restrictions like gluten-free on non-dairy. Others have dietary preferences like vegan, paleo, and all around healthy. It may seem impossible to balance all these requirements. But there are actually many programs like healthy snack delivery that take the pressure off of you. In this post, you’ll learn about the most common diets, trends in how Australians eat, and how to satisfy each taste.

Defining Special Diets

If you or a family member don’t have dietary restrictions, you may not know exactly what is included and excluded from certain diets. Some are more restrictive than others. Here are some background notes on the most common ones.

For those with celiac disease or gluten sensitives, it’s necessary to remove gluten from the diet. Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains. For those who adhere to this diet, they must avoid anything made with gluten, but they can have grains like flax, quinoa, and rice.

Because of the rise of gluten diseases and allergies, many products now have gluten-free options where either gluten has been removed or was never used. Those with gluten allergies often have bad reactions if they ingest any, so they are typically very vigilant about what they eat.

When a person chooses to go vegan in their diet, they choose to eat no animal meat or products, including eggs and dairy. Those that follow a vegan diet will appreciate snacks that are 100 per cent free from animal byproducts.

Dairy-Free

For individuals that are dairy-free, this is usually associated with a lactose intolerance. In this case, there are dairy products, like certain milk varieties, that do not have glucose. Dairy-free could also be a choice of a vegan. In this instance, there are vegan options, like soy milk and almond milk, as well as plant-based cheeses.

The Paleo diet has become extremely popular for those living a healthy lifestyle. It gets its name from the Paleolithic era, ranging from 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. The food choices align with those from that time period.

The basics of Paleo are lean meats, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It limits foods that came about after the time period, like grains and legumes.

The thinking behind the trend is that eating in this way eliminates all the processed parts of the modern diet. For Paleo followers, fresh food is essential.

All Natural, Preservative-Free

Similar to the Paleo diet but not as exclusive, those that follow a natural, preservative-free diet, avoid any kind of processed or pre-made foods. Processing foods are made to last, which means they have certain things added to them. People in this category don’t eat products that have any type of additives.

Ketogenic

The keto diet focuses on low-carb, high-fat foods, which can have positive health effects as found by at least 20 different studies. It works by reducing carbs, so your body goes into a metabolic state called ketosis. Then the body becomes extremely efficient at burning fat for energy. Keto dieters eat plenty of lean meats, nuts, and other healthy proteins.

One-Third of Australians Avoid Gluten, Dairy or Meat

A diet study from CSIRO found that 12.1 per cent of Australians don’t eat gluten or wheat, while 12 per cent avoid dairy and 8.6 per cent eliminate meat. This means that at least one-third of your employees may fall into one of these groups. If you want to know more about the dietary needs of your workforce, you can always create an anonymous survey. In this way, employees wouldn’t feel singled out for their differences.

It would, however, give you an idea of what would be an appropriate snack selection. While you can find an assortment of snacks for your breakroom from a variety of sources, they may not exactly be designed for the workplace. You can find gluten-free snack delivery and vegan snack delivery services that bring the snacks direct to you and are guaranteed to meet those dietary requirements.

Offer This, Not That to Meet Dietary Needs

While some of the dietary restrictions are very stringent, that doesn’t mean they are impossible. In fact, because of the country’s shift to a healthier outlook on eating and snacking, as well as the rise of special diets, there are now lots of options.

Grocery stores have whole sections dedicated to gluten-free offerings now. Vegan diets only continue to grow in sophistication, as restaurants and food manufacturers become more creative with how to replicate the look and taste of a traditional meal with meat.

Here are some ideas for what to offer either for snacks or for catered meals at your office.

Gluten-Free Diet Ideas

While there are now numerous gluten-free options, from pizza crusts to pasta to sandwich bread, these items aren’t exactly healthy. So instead of ordering any of these types of foods and getting some gluten-free options, order hardy salads instead, full of fresh vegetables and toppings.

You can also offer vegetables, fruits, and seafood, which are naturally gluten-free and work well with many of the other dietary needs, too.

There are also little changes like requesting gluten-free soy sauce for Asian dishes. Instead of wraps for sandwiches that are high carb, full of gluten, and high in calories, offer lettuce wraps instead. To have a wide variety for all, include some with and without meat.

For regular snacks that your office offers, there are lots of options like veggie crisps, dried fruit, and wholesome nuts. You’ll find these and more in gluten-free snack delivery. One of the most popular healthy snack delivery options, gluten-free snack delivery not only falls within the guidelines of containing no gluten, the choices are sensible and nutritious.

Vegan Diet Ideas

You might think to serve vegans anything less the meat or dairy. While that’s the central idea, vegans usually want something more original. Salads work here, but so do veggie and fruit plates. Consider stuffed peppers with quinoa (also gluten-free!) or different rice meals (brown rice is the better option for calories and carbs).

When it comes to snacking, vegans like to have variety, too. Protein bars are a good snack for vegans, as they need to pack on what they don’t get from a meatless diet. Sometimes, they like something with a crunch, like low-calorie popcorn. There are even healthy sweets like dark chocolate covered berries. These are just a few examples of what you could find in your vegan snack delivery. These snacks are so good, you don’t have to be vegan to love them.

Dairy-Free Diet Ideas

For those that need dairy-free meals or snacks, the most important thing is to avoid any foods with milk or cheese, as these are the most eaten forms of dairy. For example, you could include some almond milk for those non-dairy coffee drinkers.

You should probably avoid things like having an ice cream social, which is very popular on long, hot days, without alternatives. There are some versions of ice cream without lactose. But to be accommodating, bring natural fruit frozen bars for those that don’t do dairy.

For regular snacks, dairy-free diets are easy to accommodate, as they can still eat dried fruit, multigrain chips, and low-fat jerky. When you order healthy snack delivery, your dairy-free employees should have plenty of options.

Paleo Diet Ideas

Paleo dieters are living the lifestyle of eating whatever the hunter-gathers would have eaten during their era. Lucky for them, they don’t have to go hunt or gather it. Paleo dieters eat what’s lean and fresh. This simplistic view of eating means they are easy to please. They’d enjoy grilled chicken on salads and fresh fruit for dessert.

When it comes to snacking, Paleo followers can find something in the snack basket. With Paleo snack delivery, these eaters will be happy to find jerky, dried fruit, and nuts galore. Paleo intersects a lot of other diets with their rejection of anything processed and usual avoidance of dairy. So, Paleo snack delivery could be a winner for many groups.

All-Natural, Preservative-Free Diet Ideas

These dieters just say no to anything that’s processed. They, like many in the dietary specialty group, lean toward anything that is fresh. They appreciate salads of vegetables and/or fruit. They are unlikely to like most things that are mass produced.

But don’t worry, there are snacks they can enjoy. All-natural protein bars would be a good choice. There are lots of good options with healthy snack delivery that include only the basic ingredients. Nut mixes and dried fruit make a great late afternoon snack that will give anyone a boost.

Keto Diet Ideas

The keto diet walks the balance of taking in good fats and eliminating or lowering carbs. Carbs are a problem for lots of dietary groups, so, when possible, avoid the bad ones that are found in different breads, crackers, chips, and crusts. Vegetables and fruits do have carbs, but it’s from their natural sweetness. They’ll enjoy good fats like lean meats and avocados, too.

When snacking, keto dieters, who are known to eat several smaller meals throughout the day, can certainly find something that meets their needs. Dried fruit and nuts would represent those good fats. A lean jerky would be a good snack as well. Protein bars that focus more on the protein and not the carbs are a good option, too. Keto dieters would enjoy most anything from a healthy snack delivery service.

Catering to Employee Diet Needs Every Day

While special lunches or dinners don’t happen every day, snacking does. When you plan for an event that includes food for your employees, you’ll spend time choosing menu items and making sure everyone has something that fits their needs.

It’s less complicated to ensure that they have something healthy to snack on that meets their dietary needs and also tastes good. This trifecta is certainly attainable, and you don’t have to go down every aisle of Woolies to put together a mix of great snacks for your employees.

Instead, you can turn to the experts at Snackwize. We’re more than a healthy snack delivery company. We care about the nutrition of every Australian. We also recognize that employees spend lots of time at work and do a fair share of eating there.

Based on lots of research, it’s known that during work when employees get hungry, they hunger most for convenience. That’s how vending machines came to be. But vending machines usually don’t have the healthiest options. They are more likely to have high-sugar treats and high-salt chips. They also make no accommodations for those with special dietary needs. In the modern workforce, they just aren’t the best investment for your employees.

With healthy snack delivery, the convenience part is taken care of for you and your employees. It’s delivered straight to your office in whatever interval you choose. Then it’s accessible in your breakroom or kitchen to any hungry workers.

Healthy snack delivery also offers truly nutritious options that are certified to taste good, too. Snackwize can also handle most any type of diet. We offer gluten-free snack delivery, vegan snack delivery, and Paleo snack delivery. With so many options, your employees will feel spoiled that you care so much about what they eat. It’s a good thing to care about because when employees feel valued, they are more likely to be engaged. Plus, offering them something healthy can keep them more alert and not in a sugar slump.

Healthy snack food delivery is easy to start. You can request a sample box to get a taste of what we offer. All you need to do is complete this form, and we’ll be in touch to see how we can help. Then we’ll send you a sample box with over $50 worth of snacks for only $29.99. Get in touch today to see how you can bring modern snacking into your workplace.